The average day for most people starts in a mad rush. Your alarm goes off and you hit the snooze button only to wake up several minutes later and realize that you’re already behind schedule. You jump in the shower, throw on some clothes, shake the kids awake, and start pouring cereal and packing lunches for the day. By the time you’ve checked for homework and everyone has brushed their teeth and pulled on coats and backpacks you’re probably running pretty late. So you load up the car and hightail it to your kids’ schools to drop them off one by one. By the time you’re stuck in gridlock on your way to work, anticipating the tongue-lashing you’re going to get for showing up late yet again, the last thing you want to see is that the “check engine” light has appeared on your dashboard. As you frantically scan the hood for signs of smoke and look in the rearview mirror to see if other drivers are giving your car a wide berth, you’re probably wishing you had a way to see if the signal on you dash indicated a car-exploding kind of problem or simply a sensor that has gone out. If only there were an app for that…

As it turns out, you’re in luck. There’s an app for everything these days and the one that applies to this particular situation is called GoPoint. As you may or may not know, modern automobiles are equipped with computers (they usually reside under the passenger seat of the vehicle). These on-board diagnostic (or OBD) devices monitor sensors and control certain electrical systems (like the fuel injectors that precisely measure the volume of fuel that goes into each cylinder for maximum combustion – it sure beats a carburetor). You can basically think of the computer as the brain of your car, and as such it has access to detailed information about your engine. So when you want to discover just what has caused your check engine light to flare to life on the dash, the OBD system is capable of telling you. The caveat is that you have to speak its language.

Enter GoPoint, a free application with one goal: to connect to your car’s computer to interpret the signal that has caused the check engine light to appear. Odds are that it’s going to be related to a faulty sensor somewhere under the hood or in the exhaust system. With literally hundreds of sensors monitoring your car’s activity, it should come as no surprise that they often fail for one reason or another (whether they’re faulty in some way or they simply break down due to jostling). But it could be something more serious, like a crack in the block, blow-by in the crankcase (allowing oil into the cylinders), or a leaking radiator hose, all of which could permanently damage your car if not addressed. Of course, you’ll have to use a GoPoint GL1 cable or BT1 Bluetooth device (sold separately at a cost of about $60 or $70, respectively) to actually link to your car’s computer.

So while the app is free you will end up paying something if you want to use it (and it’s definitely cheaper than a scan tool). But if you own an older vehicle (one where the check engine light appears frequently) you’ve probably paid off your auto loan and you’ve reached the point where you’re enjoying cheap insurance rates. In a way, this is just one more way to save. When you know what is causing your check engine light to appear you can decide if you need to rush to the auto shop or if it’s something that can wait until you’re having other work done, saving you some time and money. And GoPoint can offer you peace of mind, a bonus that many harried drivers would probably call priceless.

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